NFL fan gathering will be at George R. Brown

Super Bowl spills into downtown

BILL MURPHY, Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

Published
5:30 am CDT, Tuesday, June 10, 2003

NFL Experience, an attraction expected to draw tens of thousands of fans daily during the run-up to the Super Bowl, will be at the George R. Brown Convention Center, a league official announced Monday.

The league chose the downtown site over Reliant Park in part because of the success enjoyed when the NFL Experience was held near the Gas Lamp District in San Diego, a popular tourist mecca, in January.

The pavilion housing the NFL Experience typically has been near the stadium where the game is played.

Jim Steeg, NFL senior vice president in charge of the Super Bowl, has said he likes the idea of having the pavilion near Houston's downtown, where people can walk to restaurants and other attractions.

NFL Experience gives fans an opportunity to run pass patterns, compete in football-throwing games, obtain autographs, hear live music and buy souvenirs.

With few locals expected to obtain tickets to the game, the pavilion is among the few venues open to the public, though there will be an admission fee.

In other business, Don Henderson, chairman of the Host Committee's hotel oversight committee, said the majority of local hotels have agreed not to engage in price-gouging during the weeks before the Super Bowl.

Those hotels have agreed to charge no more than 10 percent more than the maximum room rate, said Henderson.

The NFL, he said, could decline to pick Houston for another Super Bowl -- Houston hopes to get the Super Bowl seven years from now -- if hotels and other industries exploit tourists.

"We're already thinking about 2010," said Henderson.

Three years ago, Henderson and other hoteliers began preparing for the 130,000 visitors expected during the four days before the Feb. 1 game at Reliant Stadium.

Most hotels have agreed to help defray the Host Committee's costs by paying 15 percent of their room receipts to the committee, Henderson said.

In addition, most hotels have agreed not to reserve rooms until after Sept. 1.

The NFL expects to take 16,000 rooms but will not designate where those are until late summer.

To accommodate the league, most hotels have agreed not to reserve rooms until the NFL takes its block. Reservations will be taken for the estimated 19,000 other rooms that are expected to be booked starting Sept. 1, Henderson said.

Steeg and other NFL executives arrived Monday and will be having a series of meetings throughout the week. They met Monday with downtown planners to get an update on street construction and other issues, said Steeg.

They will meet Wednesday with CBS to talk about camera placements and the pre-game show. On the same day, they are scheduled to meet with MTV, which will produce the halftime show.